


The Things You Learn at Christmas

by Owl_and_the_Pussycat



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Hugs, M/M, Post S4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 01:46:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2755016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owl_and_the_Pussycat/pseuds/Owl_and_the_Pussycat





	The Things You Learn at Christmas

Derek listened to Christmas songs in his loft. It was part him trying to become a better and more normal person. Just quite how listening to Christmas songs on Christmas eve alone would contribute to this, he did not know, but it was better than listening to the rain sleet off the windows and noticing the emptiness of his loft.   
Derek had thought Christmas this year would be different. For one, he had Braeden.   
Or had Braeden, he corrected himself. Derek hadn’t been surprised by their break-up- he knew he was doomed in relationships- but he couldn’t pretend it didn’t hurt, for Braeden to demand if their relationship “was going anywhere” because she needed to know because she had “some lucrative business opportunities coming up and didn’t want to miss out on them by a dead end relationship”.  
Derek had been sort of numb when he answered, to the point where he said very little: “I don’t know,” “oh” and “I guess I’ll see you around then.”   
The pack had called round a couple of days later- (he still thought of them as pack although they weren’t that exactly anymore)- and wearily he had opened the door to them, whilst they all stood in a little semicircle and stared at him.  
“What?” Derek asked, folding his arms.  
“Would you ever consider buying some furniture?” Stiles asked him, glaring around the loft.  
“There’s a sofa right in front of you,” Derek pointed to the sofa. Right in front of Stiles.  
“Yeah, the world’s most uncomfortable sofa ever! Scott and Kira both, separately told me how uncomfortable it was. And you know when they sat on the sofa? After the whole berserkers debacle. So just think how uncomfortable the sofa must be for them to remember anything about it!”   
Derek raised an eyebrow. Scott and Kira gave each other uncomfortable glances and shifted on their feet. Lydia cleared her throat.   
“Uncomfortable sofa or not,” she began. Derek rolled his eyes. So much dialogue about a sofa, for crying out loud. “What’s happened Derek?”  
”What’s… Nothing. Nothing’s happened.” Derek said firmly.  
Malia wrinkled her nose. “Man, you reek of sadness.”  
Derek glared at her. “I do not,” he said flatly.  
“Oh, he’s just being Sourwolf,” Stiles said lightly. Scott scanned the room. “Hey is Braeden here?”  
“That’s it!” Stiles snapped his fingers. “Sourwolf drove Braeden away and is all upset about it.”   
There was an extremely uncomfortable silence, in which Lydia stomped on Stiles foot, Stiles turned red and made a series of strange expression, Scott bit his lip, Kira looked worried, and Malia waited a while before adding her thoughts.  
“That sucks. Braeden was cool.”

They left five minutes later, Stiles spluttering apologies, Scott slapping Derek’s shoulder, Malia looking unmoved by the whole scene, Lydia looking as if she just gave up. Leaving Derek alone, in the loft.

 

That had been two weeks ago, and he had tried to get into the spirit of Christmas despite everything. He bought a tree, a fake one because he hated the smell of the slowly dying real tree. He decorated it in red and golds and stuck a star at the very top, even though when he was a kid his family tree always had an angel with a gold and silver dress, and the angel was the guardian of the tree, and it didn’t matter what age you were, you had to treat that angel with respect or else.  
The angel had been burnt to nothing years ago, and Derek couldn’t bear the thought of getting a replacement one, so he was going for a star goddammit because it was his tree now and he didn’t have to follow tradition and… Stupid Christmas trees. Stupid Christmas.   
Derek even braved the shopping crowds and got a present for Cora and endured the small talk from a store clerk named Layla who asked things like what was he having for Christmas dinner, and was he having family over, and did he have children. Derek found himself making up a whole new life in which he was married to Joanne with two kids, and they were going up North to spend Christmas at the family home. Layla’s eyes practically brimmed with tears when Derek waved goodbye and she wished him a heartfelt “Merry Christmas.”  
The Christmas CD ended and Derek hovered over the player for a couple of minutes deciding whether to play it again. He wished that werewolves could drink alcohol and become drunk. That would be his night sorted- drink until he passed out and miss the whole annoying day altogether. 

Derek must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew he was in a nightmare and he knew it was a nightmare, but he couldn’t seem to get out of it.   
When he woke up, he was sweaty and felt decidedly unrested. There was a banging at the door, and Derek vaguely made the connection between this and his finally waking up. He grabbed a gun from the corner of the room (some girls left underwear or bobby pins, Braedan left guns) and walked to the door.  
“Stiles!” Derek ran his hand over his face.  
“Derek,” Stiles said, his voice sounding an octave higher than usual. “Could you put the gun down?”  
“No,” Derek said, but he stepped back from the door to let Stiles in.   
“Did I wake you up?” Stiles asked, warily eyeing the gun. “Because, and I say this as a friend, you kind of look like cr-“  
Derek closed his eyes.  
“Christmas,” Stiles whispered, in an awed voice. Derek snapped his eyes open. Stiles had stepped around Derek and was staring around Derek’s loft in amazement.   
“Wow, Derek. “ Stiles sounded genuinely impressed and not mocking. For a change.  
“This is… You did Christmas.”  
“No,” Derek said tiredly. “I hate Christmas.”  
He expected some kind of lecture from Stiles about how he was such a Scrooge, but to his surprise Stiles nodded. “Yeah, it’s a… it can be hard. Kind of crappy.”   
“Yeah,” said Derek, because this boy knew. Knew what it was like to spend what was a predominantly family occasion minus a family member.  
“Dad got called into work. It’s Christmas Eve,” Stiles emphasized vehemently. “So I just didn’t want to be by myself and I figured…”  
“Figured I’d be alone,” Derek said, and he started to laugh hollowly.   
Stiles looked at him with almost hurt eyes. He turned to Derek and hugged him.  
“What the… Stiles.” Derek pushed him away. “Stiles, what are you doing”  
Stiles looked pissed off, for some reason. Derek didn’t know what, he hadn’t just been hugged, without any warning. Derek wasn’t much of a hugger, he had been when he was little, but fuck, things change and rarely for the better.  
“I was trying to hug you!” Stiles said, definitely angry. “You’re so… You never let people help even when your obviously upset.”  
“I’m not-“ Derek cut himself off when he saw the murderous look on Stiles face.  
“Just let me give you a hug for God’s sake Derek, please,” Stiles said and the look on his face made Derek want to laugh, and he must have smiled a bit, because Stiles smiled too.   
Derek made a split second decision and nodded, and then they were hugging, and at first it was weird and awkward, but then it was just hugging and just feeling, feeling sad because of what they had lost and what they could never have again, and then it was just nice, because it was comfort and Derek wasn’t alone anymore.  
He wasn’t alone anymore, and he didn’t have to be ever again.  
When they had all hugged out, Derek regarded Stiles seriously. “If you tell anyone about this, Stiles, I’ll r-“  
”Rip my throat out with your teeth,” Stiles finished waving his hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah whatever you say. Merry Christmas Sourwolf.”  
Derek hesitated, then smiled. “Merry Christmas Stiles.”


End file.
